Mobile Devices Controlling Devices:
Mobile devices are ubiquitous. They are used for voice communications as well as textual communications such as texts, emails and other written communications through social networking sites (such as Facebook®, Twitter®, LinkedIn®), etc. In this disclosure “mobile device” we mean all devices that can communicate via cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth® or other communications and are portable, including but not limited to cell phones, smart phones, tablets, wearables, etc. These devices are used for both communications and entertainment purposes. Mobile devices for the purposes of this disclosure also include wearable devices such as watches or articles of clothing or Fitbit® and other exercise monitoring devices that have connectivity and processing capabilities. In exercise applications, software is used in watches and devices, such as Fitbits®, to keep track of miles walked or run, speed of walking or running, elevation, etc. These devices are also used for other activities such as biking or skiing. A digital watch for example could be used to open the car, and start the engine, etc., or be used to control things other than cars.
Communications include making pa hone call (cellular or using voice over IP, like Skype® or Facetime®), sending/receiving texts, posting to social media sites (such as Facebook® or LinkedIn®), etc. Entertainment includes, for example, listening to music, looking at photos, watching videos or surfing the Internet, or the like—navigation can also generally be included in this entertainment category.
It is important to limit some of these capabilities while driving but not necessarily all. In general, an exemplary embodiment is directed toward limiting any activity that requires active participation from the driver. So, listening to music, which is “passive”—i.e., does not involve participation from the driver (as opposed to “active”—which does require participation from the driver) is ok, in the sense that it doesn't distract a driver as much. Anything involving typing is especially distracting and is considered active. This is why, for example, many GPS systems won't let you input addresses (by typing them in) when you are driving. However GPS can also be passive, after you input the address, and it is important since it is very useful to the driver. So a GPS giving instructions should not be disabled. Voice calls are allowable, since the participation by the driver is speaking only (does not involve typing or even looking at the phone) and therefore he or she can continue to watch the road.
Mobile devices are also becoming increasingly used for automation and control applications, such as for controlling televisions and other electronics (acting as a remote control) or controlling home devices such as lights, air conditioning, opening and closing doors, etc. Mobile devices are also being used to start a car or open the doors or windows in a car remotely. We will refer to the device being controlled (i.e., the TV, other electronic device, car, other vehicle, etc.) as the “control device.” In this description, the phone/mobile device can be the “controlling device.” Note that the control device may be the entire device that is being controlled and/or a hardware and/or software module that is integrated into the entire device that is capable of controlling the device. For example, a hardware module that connects to the car starter/ignition (either through a wired or wireless connection) is the “control device” for that car for the purposes of starting the car. Mobile phones as controlling devices are becoming more and more popular, since everyone now uses mobile devices that have extensive functionality (in terms of computational capability and flexibility of use through software) and can support additional features easily.
An example of a mobile phone as a controlling device for a car is the following. Mobile devices can be used today to start and control inside features of vehicles before or as an alternative to a real key being present. Note that some auto starters have time limits so that the car automatically turns off if the real key is not presented within a certain time period. This requires a combination of new hardware in today's vehicles that (i) connect the vehicle to the Internet or to a cellular network and (ii) connect to the starter of the vehicle. If one of these devices is installed in the vehicle, a text message can be sent from the mobile device to the vehicle to start the vehicle. This can be done from anywhere, since the mobile device and the vehicle can be connected via the Internet or via a cellular network. So, for example, someone could start their car in NY while on their phone in San Francisco as long as both their car and phone are either on the same cellular network or both connected to the Internet. An example of such a device is sold by Connect2Car (see connect2car.com as of Jun. 14, 2014). This device enables communications with a car either via a cellular link (such as GSM) or via Bluetooth®.
A more elaborate example of the mobile device acting as a controlling device for a car is a solution like the Android Car and Car Play® (by Apple®). With these software solutions, mobile devices control the dashboard of the car via the mobile device. These are software or apps (applications) that effectively turn the control of car functionality over to the mobile device. Car functionality such as music choice and volume, air conditioning, sunroof control, window control, etc. could be all controlled via software such as in a one or more apps.
Mobile devices can also be and are increasingly being used to control things other than cars. The Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging technology and industry that will allow any “thing” to be connected to and accessed via the internet or other communications networks. Within IoT, mobile devices play a key controlling device role, since they can be used to program, monitor, and receive information from the connected things. For example an app on a phone can be used to monitor a home security camera that is connected to the Internet (the camera is the “thing”). With a typical app, the user can turn the camera on or off, ask the camera to send a recent photo or video, have the mobile phone receive a photo or video if the camera so chooses, etc., i.e., the phone is a controlling device that is being actively used for home security/monitoring.
Cars as Connected Devices
There are an increasing number of communications chips being used in cars today for multiple purposes. For the purposes of this description, a car can be any vehicle, including buses, trains, motorcycles, etc.
Cars are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their level of connectivity to communications networks. Many cars today have cellular connectivity capability (e.g., a cellular transceiver chip that is dedicated to the car) that can then be used for communication to and from the car itself (for safety purposes, for example), for GPS in the car, or as a hotspot for Wi-Fi access for occupants in the car. Many of the “things” in the car are or will become connected as well, such as radios, and even seats or gas tanks. Anything where information would be useful to the car owner or manufacturer can be easily connected via an IoT applications. As an example, a car in an accident can notify a third party (e.g. police, roadside service company, etc.) via a communications link initiated by the car (as opposed to the driver), its location and status. As another example, one could see how much gas is in their tank by looking at their smartphone if the tank had a IoT chip—and could know whether they needs to plan a trip to the gas station before getting in the car and looking at the gas gauge. Seat sensors (via IoT communications) would be used to see how many people are in a car at a certain time, in case of accident to know how many occupants were involved in the incident.
In the near future, cars are going to have Wi-Fi transceivers that are used primarily for safety and control purposes. For the purpose of this invention, we will call these “safety Wi-Fi links”. The devices that produce these links will be in each car (and in other locations) and provide a means for cars to communicate with one another to determine proximity to one another or to incidents on the road (accidents, road work, etc.) Safety Wi-Fi links are not used for the occupants to communicate content generated by them, but instead are used by the cars themselves for safety and control reasons. IEEE 802.11p is an example of such a technology, as is LTE direct. Both of these technologies have a reach (i.e., they can communicate within a range) of about 300 meters and allow for cars to “see” things (using radio waves) that cannot be seen with the sensors they often use that are based on line of sight vision (such as cameras installed on bumpers, etc.). Since radio waves can propagate through objects, these wireless signals can “see” things that are beyond the car in front or the object to the car's right or left. It can provide an indication of the presence of another such communications device within an allowed distance and therefore provide a “landscape” of objects that are close to the car. Self-driving cars and auto-stopping are some of the emerging uses of this technology in cars today. In summary, for the purpose of this disclosure, cars are becoming homes for multiple communications chips that are dedicated to the car functionality.
In general, cars can independently connect to other cars or other devices such as mobile devices.
Limiting the Use of Cell Phones in Cars
It is desirable to limit the use of mobile devices in cars for safety reasons. There are laws that outlaw the use of phones for texting, but there effect has been limited. The primary problem is that while most people can't text and drive—they think they can. And therefore approaches that try to convince people otherwise (with advertisements and training classes and driver's education) have met limited success.